FAQS

Q. What exactly is an internship?A. Internships are educational programs that allow students to gain practical work experience and academic credit at the same time. These are supervised programs of work and study which involve students working in government, community service, or business settings applying skills and knowledge obtained in the course of their studies. The typical intern works ten to twenty hours per week.

Q. What is a typical rate of compensation?A. The range of pay is indeed very broad. Interns are paid from $10-20 per hour or more. Median pay in Summer 2014 was $14/hour. When the intern possesses skills and abilities that the sponsor highly values, the pay is on the high end.

Q. What kinds of organizations sponsor interns?A. All kinds. We regularly place interns with the largest employers in Sonoma County as well as with organizations in which the intern is the only employee aside from the owner.

Q. Is there special liability in sponsoring an intern?A. No. In ten years of operating the internship program in the School of Business and Economics no sponsoring organization has had a problem with an intern that could not be quickly and informally resolved. Ninety-nine percent of our placements prove satisfactory to the sponsoring organization and to the intern.

Q. How should my request for an intern be written?A. We suggest that you write it as if you were seeking a new employee. Using your letterhead or a Word document, write an internship/job description and submit it to duane.dove@sonoma.edu.

Q. How should I submit my request?A. Ideally you would submit your intern opportunity announcement on letterhead in an enclosure by e-mail to duane.dove@sonoma.edu. Snail mail is feasible though it requires that we scan your internship description. Submission by fax is less desirable because that medium frequently compromises the quality of the posting.

Q. Who should I contact for more information?A. Call Duane Dove at the School of Business and Economics at 707-664-2954.